Left-leaning demonstrators had been preparing for months to march through downtown Milwaukee at the start of the Republican National Convention on Monday. The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, protest organizers said, would not change those plans.

Attack Left Country in Shock

Even as the attack, which happened during Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania, left the country in a state of shock and worry, it seemed that the Republicans’ convention would go forward largely as planned. Secret Service officials expressed confidence in their security plan, which they said they had “strengthened” after the shooting. Republican Party leaders said that Trump would still accept the nomination in person on Thursday. And protesters, a consistent presence at national political conventions, said they would be there, too.

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“We have not had safety issues at any of our several marches or events, and we look forward to our family-friendly march,” Omar Flores, a co-chair of the Coalition to March on the RNC, said on Sunday in Milwaukee.

On Sunday, Secret Service officials in Milwaukee signaled that they would not change their security plan in response to the attack in Pennsylvania. But early Monday morning, the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, said in a statement that the convention security plans had been “reviewed and strengthened in the wake of Saturday’s shooting.” She did not specify what had changed.

“As the conventions progress, and in accordance with the direction of the president, the Secret Service will continuously adapt our operations as necessary in order to ensure the highest level of safety and security for convention attendees, volunteers and the city of Milwaukee,” Cheatle said.

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Protests Are Planned

For their part, protest organizers said they still planned to hold a rally and march downtown on Monday around the time delegates would be arriving for some of the first meetings of the convention. There was still some uncertainty about how close to the event protesters would be allowed to march, a dispute that has simmered between organizers and city leaders for weeks. Flores said that his group intended to come “within sight and sound” of Fiserv Forum, the main convention hall.

Activists involved in the planned march were united in opposition to Trump and the Republican platform but also motivated by a range of issues. Some said they objected to the United States’ support of Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip. Others focused on abortion restrictions or immigration policy. Many said they were seeking more accountability for police officers and more protections for LGBTQ+ people. Some of the same activists have also said that they were planning to protest next month outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

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Hatem Abudayyeh, national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, part of the coalition planning to protest in Milwaukee, said on Sunday that “we’re going full steam ahead.”

“Regardless of any increase in tension, we still are calling on local and federal police to do their job, which is to not infringe on our protest rights,” Abudayyeh said.

Law enforcement officials said they were prepared for the demonstrators, who have said they expect to number in the thousands. Chief Jeffrey B. Norman of the Milwaukee Police Department said he wanted to reassure both local residents and convention attendees that the security plans would keep people safe.

“We got this,” the chief said.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Mitch Smith and Robert Chiarito/Hiroko Masuike
c.2024 The New York Times Company